As most of you might have gathered (especially those following the Real Wild One Instagram feed), am fairly obsessed with trees... I love the colours and canopies, the texture and tactility, the total oomphness of them. They are so present. Ever seen a live being more in the "now" than a tree? They just stand their, strong and noble. But in the autumn, they take on an extra special flair showing us how to gracefully shed skin to make room for new beginnings...Don't know about you guys, but I find it impossible to walk past the odd fallen leaf in the autumn, if it's a striking colour, and not pick it up. The kids can't help themselves either. So we pick them up. We stick them in our pockets or bags, full of hope and expectation. Some day, something amazing will happen to this leaf in my pocket! Of course what actually happens is that come December, I've got dried crispy leaf crumbs in every corner of every bag and pocket, as the leaves we had picked up were never pressed or dealt with, but left to desiccate next to the random coins and leftover sandwiches that never see the light of day.

That was then. This year is different. This year I discovered beeswax. The handy little natural wax produced in the beehive of honey bees. Not - as my daughter assumed - in the bees' ears. It turns out, it's the elixir of life for a leaf. When melted, you can dip a leaf into it and the leaf will keep its glorious autumn shape and colour FOREVER - or at least until it's time to pick leaves up again next year. Genius right?

What you need:

Colourful autumn leaves

Beeswax (melted, but not boiling)

Top tip: It's best to use leaves that have already fallen on the ground. If you pick them off a tree they may still change colour and go brown under the beeswax. Also, extra tip: use some old tupperware for the bain-marie process, as you'll probably have to throw it out after use.Top quote: "Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." Albert Camus

Here's our bounty from our romp on the heath. Just to clarify, I didn't wear yellow socks to match the leaves. I just wear yellow socks, cos they make me smile when I look down.

Close up of some of our leaves. I particularly love that light lemony shade of yellow. It's sort of elegant in a Japanese-y kind of way. Like an early Rinko Kawauchi.

Watching beeswax melt... The kids referred to this particular part of our project as "epic". I could barely get their face out of that pot - which incidentally I sort of stole from an X-boyfriend, who once brought over a dish for a party. In all its 70s flavour it has now become a kitchen favourite.

Prepping the leaves to dip them into the hot wax. Watch your fingers, kids.

Dipping the leaves... Baking paper underneath for any rogue drippings

Dipped and drying

Et voila! The kids really enjoyed tying the leaves to the string. We hung them above our dining table, but am sure they'd also look pretty spesh in front of a window, dangling in the sunlight.

Hey leaves, face me for the photo! They did their own thing in the end. Twirling lightly this way and that. But I dig the non full frontal look. It gives the whole dangle chain a lightness of being.

Once you've tried the beeswax, you can also experiment with painting your leaves, like artist Gabee Meyer does

Painted leaves by Gabee Meyer

More wild ideas:

Author

Anne-Celine Jaeger is a journalist, author and mother of three based in London. This blog is about about tapping into the adventurous, innocent, magical spirit in every child, not caring about dirty hands, mucky feet, tangled hair or muddy knees. It's about running wild in nature. It's about smelling, feeling, touching, hearing and tasting the great outdoors. It's about being free.